Things I Learned, or Relearned, at Tales 2010

Enough already with the early-morning Tuesday flights. Next year, if I need to be at Tales on Tuesday, I’m arriving Monday afternoon or evening. Also, it’s impossible to get a drink at 6am in my home airport.

Always eat when you’re offered food, especially if said food is free. You’ll be drinking the rest of the day; you need something to absorb the booze.

Ditto for water. The bottles of Fiji they offer at every session and in every tasting room? I drink more bottles of Fiji water in five days at Tales than I do the rest of the year.

You really don’t have to finish every drink that’s offered at seminars. I relearn this lesson every year, and will probably continue to relearn it.

The Cocktail Apprentices, or CAPs, work their asses off. They deserve to be thanked by name at every panel, by every moderator. I saw Eric Seed do this on the Full Proof/Overproof panel and vowed to do it at mine. For the record, ours were Frank Cisneros, Hal Wolin, and Lou Bustamante.

Enough already with the early-morning Monday flights. I was bored, bored, bored on Sunday (in part because I blew all my money on Tales and couldn’t go to Cure or Cochon). Also, it’s impossible to drink in the airport at 6am. Hell, it’s nearly impossible to eat in the airport at 6am, assuming you want hot food. Either leave after the last panel Sunday or leave later on Monday and find something to do Sunday night.